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Fish FryIt's a public radio party in your living room, as Chuck Haddix serves up the best in blues, R&amp;B, soul, jumpin' jazz and zydeco. In 1984, Chuck Haddix, also known as Chuck Haddock (like the fish) on the air, joined the staff of KCUR as a jazz producer. The next year, he began producing Fish Fry . Haddix is the director of the Marr Sound Archives , a collection of 340,000 historic sound recordings housed in the Miller Nichols Library at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Haddix teaches Kansas City jazz history at the Kansas City Art Institute. Over the years, Haddix has contributed to a wide variety of theatrical, recording, video and film projects including Cronkite Remembers a biography of Walter Cronkite, Robert Altman's Kansas City and Merchant-Ivory's Mr. and Mrs. Bridge . His articles have appeared in Down Beat and Living Blues Magazine. Haddix is the coauthor of Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop published by Oxford University Press and the author of Bird: The LifeenFri, 09 Dec 2016 20:43:52 +0000NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Emilie MutertEmilie Mutertweb@kcur.orgIt's a public radio party in your living room, as Chuck Haddix serves up the best in blues, R&amp;B, soul, jumpin' jazz and zydeco. In 1984, Chuck Haddix, also known as Chuck Haddock (like the fish) on the air, joined the staff of KCUR as a jazz producer. The next year, he began producing Fish Fry . Haddix is the director of the Marr Sound Archives , a collection of 340,000 historic sound recordings housed in the Miller Nichols Library at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Haddix teaches Kansas City jazz history at the Kansas City Art Institute. Over the years, Haddix has contributed to a wide variety of theatrical, recording, video and film projects including Cronkite Remembers a biography of Walter Cronkite, Robert Altman's Kansas City and Merchant-Ivory's Mr. and Mrs. Bridge . His articles have appeared in Down Beat and Living Blues Magazine. Haddix is the coauthor of Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop published by Oxford University Press and the author of Bird: The LifenoIt's a public radio party in your living room, as Chuck Haddix serves up the best in blues, R&amp;B, soul, jumpin' jazz and zydeco. In 1984, Chuck Haddix, also known as Chuck Haddock (like the fish) on the air, joined the staff of KCUR as a jazz producer. The next year, he began producing Fish Fry . Haddix is the director of the Marr Sound Archives , a collection of 340,000 historic sound recordings housed in the Miller Nichols Library at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Haddix teaches Kansas City jazz history at the Kansas City Art Institute. Over the years, Haddix has contributed to a wide variety of theatrical, recording, video and film projects including Cronkite Remembers a biography of Walter Cronkite, Robert Altman's Kansas City and Merchant-Ivory's Mr. and Mrs. Bridge . His articles have appeared in Down Beat and Living Blues Magazine. Haddix is the coauthor of Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop published by Oxford University Press and the author of Bird: The LifenoKCURweb@kcur.orghttp://kcur.org/post/kansas-city-duo-betse-clarkes-journey-underway-and-theyre-not-looking-back
Musicians Betse Ellis and Clarke Wyatt started playing as Betse & Clarke , a fiddle and banjo duo, in late 2014. Their latest album is called River Still Rise . Wyatt told Fish Fry host Chuck Haddix that, despite each performing in the Kansas CityKansas City Duo Betse & Clarke's Journey Is Underway And They're Not Looking BackMusicians Betse Ellis and Clarke Wyatt started playing as Betse & Clarke , a fiddle and banjo duo, in late 2014. Their latest album is called River Still Rise . Wyatt told Fish Fry host Chuck Haddix that, despite each performing in the Kansas City music scene for nearly two decades with bands like The Wilders and Mr. Marco's V-7 , their first musical connection was just a few years ago at the Walnut Valley Music Festival in Winfield, Kansas. "The first time we really played together, and had a thought that, 'Wow, this could really be something,' was at Winfield, sitting around a campfire at 2:30 in the morning," Wyatt recalls. "And everybody else had sort of just drifted off and we were playing quiet duets at the campfire, and it was pretty magical." HADDIX : "How did River Still Rise come about?" ELLIS : "We spent a great part of this past winter, [and] well into the spring, working on the recording. When it came to the title of it, it's a little bit of an enigmatic phrase: Riverhaddixc@umkc.edu (Chuck Haddix)95192 as http://kcur.orgFri, 16 Sep 2016 14:22:13 +0000Chuck Haddix 360http://kcur.org/post/levee-town-guitarist-brandon-hudspeth-inspiration-began-sesame-street
In late July, blues band Levee Town released its first recording in five years. Guitarist and vocalist Brandon Hudspeth has been with Levee Town since the beginning. A transplant from Oklahoma, Hudspeth moved to the Kansas City area when he was 19. HeFor Levee Town Guitarist Brandon Hudspeth, Inspiration Began With 'Sesame Street'In late July, blues band Levee Town released its first recording in five years. Guitarist and vocalist Brandon Hudspeth has been with Levee Town since the beginning. A transplant from Oklahoma, Hudspeth moved to the Kansas City area when he was 19. He played in bands, such as The MO City Jumpers, before co-founding The Cobalt Project — and some of the members of that group went on to create Levee Town. Though he's known for his blues playing, Hudspeth also has jazz chops. HUDSPETH : "I love jazz. I love all kinds of music, but definitely jazz is a mainstay. I studied at UMKC and learned a lot there." HADDIX : "Also, your career path followed that of many other great artists who came out of Oklahoma. You hail from Muskogee. Jay McShann, Claude Fiddler Willliams, so many great artists, came to Kansas City." HUDSPETH : "I know, ironic. We all came to the same spot." HADDIX : "How did you first pick up the guitar?" HUDSEPTH : "Really I was influenced at a very early age by Johnny Cash,haddixc@umkc.edu (Chuck Haddix)93508 as http://kcur.orgFri, 19 Aug 2016 20:11:39 +0000Chuck Haddix 261http://kcur.org/post/kansas-city-blues-couple-will-be-king-and-queen-when-kck-street-blues-festival-returns
Singer Linda Shell has long been described as the "Queen of Kansas City Blues." This weekend, Shell will be crowned Queen, and her husband, K.C. Kelsey Hill, will be King, when the Kansas City Kansas Street Blues Festival returns after a six-year hiatus .Kansas City Blues Couple Will Be King And Queen When KCK Street Blues Festival ReturnsSinger Linda Shell has long been described as the "Queen of Kansas City Blues." This weekend, Shell will be crowned Queen, and her husband, K.C. Kelsey Hill, will be King, when the Kansas City Kansas Street Blues Festival returns after a six-year hiatus . From 1975 to 1984, Shell's mother, Delores Graham, owned a club at the corner of 39th and Jackson in Kansas City, Missouri, called Blues Alley. This is where the two musicians first got to know each other, as they told The Fish Fry's host Chuck Haddix : HADDIX: "You guys kind of go together like peanut butter and jelly, really (laughs). When I think of Linda Shell, invariably I think of K.C. Kelsey. How did you guys first meet?" HILL : "Oh man, she'd probably have to tell you. (laughs) It's been a long time." SHELL : "That's a guy answer, right? (laughs). Well, Chick Willis [Robert "Chick" Willis]. He was part of Chick Willis and the Stoop Down Band." HILL : "Yeah, I had known her mother for a long time, and she's always been a friendhaddixc@umkc.edu (Chuck Haddix)91463 as http://kcur.orgWed, 22 Jun 2016 16:07:20 +0000Chuck Haddix 330http://kcur.org/post/ida-mcbeth-luminary-kansas-city-songstress-walks-down-memory-lane
The American Jazz Museum celebrates two Kansas City musical acts this weekend with Lifetime Achievement Awards for the McFadden Brothers and Ida McBeth . McBeth's musical memories go all the way back to when she was five years old at church, singing theIda McBeth, Luminary Kansas City Songstress, Walks Down Memory LaneThe American Jazz Museum celebrates two Kansas City musical acts this weekend with Lifetime Achievement Awards for the McFadden Brothers and Ida McBeth . McBeth's musical memories go all the way back to when she was five years old at church, singing the solo on a song called “It’s In My Heart.” McBETH: “I always sounded like a grown woman, even when I was a little girl. So I got up one Sunday morning and they said, 'We’re gonna have Miss McBeth come up here, little old Miss McBeth. Come on up here and sing the song, baby, come on.' "They got me in the choir, they put me on some boxes so I could sing up to microphone, and I started singing 'It’s In My Heart.' And all the sisters got to falling out with the white dresses on, the deacon was going over there with fans trying to fan them on the floor, and I was getting scared (thinking) my mother’s gonna give me a whipping because I made the old ladies fall out. But then I found out that was a good thing.” HADDIX: “Of course there’s thehaddixc@umkc.edu (Chuck Haddix)89696 as http://kcur.orgFri, 13 May 2016 13:14:42 +0000Chuck Haddix 282http://kcur.org/post/victor-penny-writing-perfect-line-and-connecting-audience
For the past six years, Victor & Penny — aka Jeff Freling and Erin McGrane — have traveled the country performing original music, as well as jazz and pop standards. Starting as a duo, playing tight harmonies on guitar and ukulele, they’re now backedVictor & Penny, On Writing A Perfect Line And Connecting To The AudienceFor the past six years, Victor & Penny — aka Jeff Freling and Erin McGrane — have traveled the country performing original music, as well as jazz and pop standards. Starting as a duo, playing tight harmonies on guitar and ukulele, they’re now backed by their Loose Change Orchestra. Fish Fry host Chuck Haddix talked to Victor & Penny about their latest album, Electricity , and the creative process: On creating their own kind of sound "It's kind of a '20s sort of a prohibition-era band with a New Orleans horn section," says Freling. "And a jazz underbelly," adds McGrane . "From early on, Jeff really talked a lot about how the sounds sounded together. How the sound of his vintage guitar and my vintage ukulele sounded together. So I think that was kind of by design," says McGrane. "We thought it sounded somehow both familiar and unusual — the sound of those 10 strings, my four strings and his six together. And that was kind of the basis of the whole thing and then we kind of builthaddixc@umkc.edu (Chuck Haddix)89481 as http://kcur.orgFri, 06 May 2016 05:02:00 +0000Chuck Haddix 287http://kcur.org/post/kasey-rausch-new-album-and-learning-carve-her-own-path
Folk Alliance International kicks off its annual conference —and a new Music Fair — Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo. The five-day event is expected to draw nearly 3,000 musicians from around the world. Local folk performers will also be in the spotlight,Kasey Rausch, On A New Album And 'Learning To Carve' Her Own PathFolk Alliance International kicks off its annual conference —and a new Music Fair — Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo. The five-day event is expected to draw nearly 3,000 musicians from around the world. Local folk performers will also be in the spotlight, such as Kasey Rausch . The singer-songwriter's latest full-length album, her third, is called Guitar in Hand. It's her first CD since 2007. "I couldn't not make music. I had to make music. It's part of my being, so I decided to give it another go," Rausch told Fish Fry host Chuck Haddix when asked about her hiatus from recording. "I'm learning to carve my path, instead of letting the path carve me." The songs on the album, ranging from folk to old-time country, share some stories about her home state of Missouri, like a trip to a moonshine distillery. In “The Gospel of Winfield,” she pays homage to the Walnut Valley Festival , an annual bluegrass festival in Winfield, Kan . "It's a pilgrimage for us every year, for us Kansas City folk,"haddixc@umkc.edu (Chuck Haddix)69109 as http://kcur.orgWed, 18 Feb 2015 12:25:00 +0000Chuck Haddix 295http://kcur.org/post/maria-mexican-influenced-mariachi-roots
The band Maria the Mexican describes its sound as Americana soul and Mexicana groove. Sisters Maria and Tess Cuevas got their start in Mariachi Estrella , an all-female mariachi band founded by their grandmother, the late Teresa Cuevas . In 2011, theyMaria The Mexican, Influenced By Mariachi RootsThe band Maria the Mexican describes its sound as Americana soul and Mexicana groove. Sisters Maria and Tess Cuevas got their start in Mariachi Estrella , an all-female mariachi band founded by their grandmother, the late Teresa Cuevas . In 2011, they branched out to form Maria the Mexican, with guitarist Garrett Nordstrom. The Fish Fry host Chuck Haddix talked to the two sisters about their mariachi roots and debut album called Moon Colored Jade. Interview Highlights: Maria and Tess Cuevas On musical influences from classic rock to mariachi Maria Cuevas : My sister and I grew up listening to artists like Santana, Eric Clapton. Our father was very much into classic rock... We grew up with basically mariachi rock in the home. We really took that sound and mixed it with Garrett ( Nordstrom) 's sound. From his previous band and previous work, he really taught us how to groove. Because before that, we didn't really know much about those types of rhythms. On their grandmother as a survivorhaddixc@umkc.edu (Chuck Haddix)52588 as http://kcur.orgTue, 18 Mar 2014 10:00:00 +0000Chuck Haddix 217http://kcur.org/post/tim-whitmer-learning-jazz-greats
Jazz pianist and bandleader Tim Whitmer has gained a reputation for building on jazz traditions, as well as performing original compositions. Whitmer is a mainstay at jazz clubs, but he also plays in local churches. Whitmer spoke to Chuck Haddix, whoTim Whitmer On Learning From Jazz GreatsJazz pianist and bandleader Tim Whitmer has gained a reputation for building on jazz traditions, as well as performing original compositions. Whitmer is a mainstay at jazz clubs, but he also plays in local churches. Whitmer spoke to Chuck Haddix, who hosts the KCUR music program, The Fish Fry on Friday and Saturday nights. Interview Highlights: Tim Whitmer On merging the sacred and the secular "One of the real turning points for me...was actually when I was at the UMKC Conservatory , and through our good buddy, George Salisbury, I got to meet Mary Lou Williams . Mary Lou Williams at the time was doing a lot of sacred music, and that really turned me on to the amazing possibilities of doing jazz in the church setting." On shaking hands with Mary Lou Williams "She was a two-fisted piano player, and she competed with the all-time greats, and when you shook her hand, you knew you had been somewhere." On recording Kansas City with Speedy Huggins "We were up real late...we were going tohaddixc@umkc.edu (Chuck Haddix)47417 as http://kcur.orgFri, 29 Nov 2013 18:24:24 +0000Chuck Haddix 251http://kcur.org/post/18th-vine-jazz-and-blues-festival-features-kelley-hunt
Roots and R&B singer/songwriter Kelley Hunt says when she first started singing, her grandmother, a gospel singer, gave her this advice: Dont sing it, if you dont mean it. Hunt was born in Kansas City, Mo. and grew up in Emporia, Kan. She told Fish18th & Vine Jazz And Blues Festival Features Kelley HuntRoots and R&B singer/songwriter Kelley Hunt says when she first started singing, her grandmother, a gospel singer, gave her this advice: Dont sing it, if you dont mean it. Hunt was born in Kansas City, Mo. and grew up in Emporia, Kan. She told Fish Fry host Chuck Haddix that her parents always had music playing in the house, including jazz, blues, R&B and Motown. I think I got it through osmosis. And there was such an appreciation for it that, shoot, I thought everybodys family played this music all the time, says Hunt. There were always records going in the house, or the radio playing. Hunts most recent recording, Gravity Loves You , was released in 2011. Shake It Off Right Away was a song that she says was in her catalog, but she hadnt recorded it before. Hunt says her husband/manager, Al Berman, suggested it before they headed to Nashville, Tenn. to record the album. It was just a fun romp. We did it absolutely live...we kept the whole track intact, warts and all, becausehaddixc@umkc.edu (Chuck Haddix)44873 as http://kcur.orgWed, 09 Oct 2013 16:45:34 +0000Chuck Haddix 345http://kcur.org/post/interview-chubby-carrier
An Interview With Chubby Carrierhaddixc@umkc.edu (Chuck Haddix)29206 as http://kcur.orgTue, 18 Dec 2012 18:50:17 +0000Chuck Haddix 811